Nagpur: When Harsh Dagar was sinking those three pointers against a superior but shell-shocked Bahrain for a famous win for Indian basketball last week, each time he scored, he was writing off one hardship after another. He is aware that there are still a few more to go, just that now he is taking them on secure in the confidence that things may have turned a corner. Just 19, the India point-guard is the senior team’s youngest member and a most-exciting prospect.
Brought up by a single parent, the youngster’s childhood was harsh. “When I was a kid, my mother used to stitch clothes for others at home It was our sole source of income, to help us grow. I made basketball my career, you can say, as our source of income. Now my mother enjoys life at home and is happy to see my growth,” he told TOI, soaking in India’s 11th entry to the Asian Cup.
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‘Adopted’ by NBA India’s residential academy in Greater Noida on a full scholarship in 2018, Dagar saw it come to a shuddering stop when all things were halted in 2020 due to the pandemic lockdown.
But those difficult times when he saw with his mother struggle, had made Harsh a tough man. Resourcefulness would show. He and brother, Apurv crafted a basketball hoop from scrap metal near their home in Gurgaon’s Baliyawas village.
Determination too would find a space. The basketball hoop that the Dagar boys made had ‘Money’ written on the board. “Through basketball, I have to achieve everything in life,” Harsh had told TOI then, “Whenever I see ‘Money’ on the board, it reminds me of the tough times and I get motivated that only basketball can help me achieve everything in life,” he had said.
Seven years ago, a complete beginner when he was enrolled in the NBA academy, the 6-feet-two former school’s goalkeeper has now been representing India at various age levels since 2019. Aged 13, representing Uttar Pradesh, he secured bronze in junior (U-18) nationals and participated in NBA’s Junior Global Championships in Orlando. The NBA Academy tag and his performances led him to make senior India debut, becoming the youngest player in the gold-medal-winning South Asian Games team in Nepal.
India basketball player Hars
In Oct 2022, Harsh helped India secure silver at the Fiba 3×3 Asia Cup in Malaysia, qualifying for the 2023 World Cup — a first in Indian basketball’s 88-year history in any format, in any age category. Representing India in the World Cup and winning a silver medal in Asia gave Harsh the much-needed financial security in life. His achievements led to employment with Uttar Pradesh police in 2023, with a promotion to sub-inspector slated for next month.
Yet, the ambition to excel in basketball continued to burn. It coincided with the return of American Scott Flemming as India coach. Flemming was the NBA India technical director when Dagar was at the academy, before being appointed India head coach from 2012-2015, and his return ignited the hopes of all the senior and junior cagers. “Coach Scott gives freedom to players. All the players supported each other, we have a trust on each one of us and this is what Scott has created. India has the talent, we have the capacity, we just needed a system which coach Scott brought back,” said Dagar, whose prospects immediately improved.
There were a series of interesting reunions at the Bahrain qualifiers. India beat Iraq, coached by former Indian coach Veselin Matic. “Before leaving India, Matic had said we won’t qualify for the Asia Cup. It was destiny that we and Iraq were in the same group,” Harsh told TOI. We all know how that turned out. Firing a team-high 28 points against higher-ranked Bahrain next, the 20-year-old would have told himself good things are indeed round the corner.
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